Arabic-Chinese Language Mobile App for Children

Abstract

The Chinese language is becoming dominant in the world due to the economic and political rise of China recently. The purpose of this paper is to help Arabic children at an early age, from five to ten years, to learn Chinese language, via a mobile application design developed to teach the basics of Chinese vocabulary, including numbers, colors, foods, clothes, events, and also common phrases, with quizzes. To improve the learning experience, this application link for learning the Chinese language and culture is configured so that every component (vocabulary or phrases) reflects the information about Chinese culture. A questionnaire was distributed to explore the expected benefits of using such applications. In addition, the presented prototype helped to identify some significant requirements to consider when designing similar mobile applications. In conclusion, this study highlights the importance of introducing cultural components when designing mobile applications for teaching a foreign language, which has vast opportunities to develop the children’s personality and introduce them to universal values.